promise of protection by the pasha; however, as soon as Ali gained Kiafa, he ordered his troops to seize and murder them. About 150 men and women were seized and enslaved by Ali and 25 were killed. During this battle, 22 women and six men decided to die rather than to fall into the hands of Ali. Over 50 women, holding their children in their arms, danced on the cliff at Zalongo. One by one, reaching the leading side of the circle dance, they threw themselves over the cliff. The bodies of four children were reported to be found below, perhaps having been saved by the corpses of those who fell before--but saved for the inevitable suffering at the hands of the Ottomans. The story of the mass suicide at Zalongo soon became known in the whole region and throughout Europe. In another part of Epirus, a group of no more than 200 Souliotes managed to defend themselves. After numerous battles, a few families managed to retreat to Parga. This “disgrace” could not be tolerated by Ali. He ordered his troops to kill every Souliote family that lived dispersed in his pashalik, and he sent the seventy Souliote families who had surrendered to him to inhabit the most desolate spots in his pashalik. The eviction and the catastrophe made Souliotes flee to Corfu. In 1820, they reached an agreement with Ali Pasha, and turned back to their homeland, fighting this time side-by-side with Ali against the Ottoman Empire. Nevertheless, in no more than a year, Souliotes became part of the Greek War of Independence, thus leaving their land forever. Legacy According to the legend, the women of Zalongo, holding their children in their arms, went to the cliff at Zalongo and, while singing and dancing the syrtos, jumped over the precipice one after another. The incident soon became known in Europe. At the Salon of 1827, a French artist named Ary Scheffer exhibited two Romantic paintings, one of which was entitled Les Femmes souliotes ("The Souliot Women"). Today, a monument on the site of Mount Zalongo above village Kamarina (in which the Drakos family is still represented) and above Kassope commemorates their sacrifice. There is also a popular dance-song about the event, which is known and still is danced in Greece today. See also Moscho Tzavela Kitsos Botsaris Ottoman Greece References Sources Souliotes Ottoman Epirus Conflicts in 1803 Wars involving